The present invention relates to color and, more specifically, to the selection of a color for a product.
Many products are offered in a number of colors. For instance, paints and plastics are offered in numerous colors. Potential purchasers of products that come in a number of different colors are either: (1) looking for the product in a specific color; or (2) want to browse the available colors for the product. Presently, a potential purchaser that is looking for a product in a specific color has three options for determining whether the product is available in the desired color. The first option requires the potential purchaser to send a sample of the desired color to the vendor. The vendor then performs a search of its color library to determine whether or not the product is available in the desired color and then informs the potential purchaser of the results of the search. The second option is for the potential purchaser to travel to the vendor""s site and review their color library for a product to determine whether or not the vendor offers the product in the desired color. Lastly, the potential purchaser can request a physical copy of the vendor""s color catalog for the product and search the catalog for the specific color. Due to printing costs and the like, physical copies of the vendor""s catalog are, in many instances, out of date. In any case, the vendor may offer the product in a color that, while not the desired color, is close enough. Alternatively, if the product is not available in the desired color or a color that is close enough for the purchaser, some vendors offer to match the color. Matching a color is generally a time consuming and expensive endeavor. A purchaser that wants to browse the available colors for a product either travels to the vendor""s site to peruse the vendor""s color library for a product or obtains a copy of the vendor""s color catalog for the product to review.
Thus there is a particular need for a more efficient way for potential purchasers of products that are available in a number of colors, and especially in situations in which the product is available in a large number of colors, to select the color of the product. The present invention makes use of a computer network, such as the Internet, to convey information from a color database for a product to a potential consumer. This substantially reduces, if not eliminates, the need for a potential purchaser to either send a sample of the desired color to a vendor or to travel to the vendor""s site to review a color library. To elaborate, the computer network is used to convey a request from a potential purchasers computer to a computer that has access to a color database for the product of interest. The request is capable of being related to either: (1) assessing the relationship of the desired color to the available colors for the product; or (2) browsing the color database. The computer network is subsequently used to convey a reply to the request. With respect to a request relating to assessing the relationship of the desired color to the available colors, the reply includes one or more of the available colors that are closest to the desired color. In the case of browsing, the reply facilitates the potential purchaser""s review of the entire color database of available colors for the product.